When I tell you it snows here, don’t read between the lines…..When it starts it doesn’t stop…6-8, 10-14 inches,  snow blowing sideways, downway, in circles swirling, 6 foot snowbanks, plow trucks, sidewalk plows, everyday or like lately every other day. I soon was looking for a switch or button to flick it off, (Come on, you know I’m not the only one) but as you looked out into it, the trees were frosted and glistening and there were diamond sparks from the snow top, the mounds of snow are deep and fluffy, the air is crispy and cool..with this, we master the art of wintering….

The wind howling, temperature dropping crazily, {it was -20 at one point}, snow falling endlessly, we cook a lot of stews and soups, watch a lot of television, read, knitt, color, play scrabble, cribbage or whatever we can do to keep busy…Everyday it gets dark at 3:30PM, you are surely ready to hit the sack at 6:30-7:00 because your body clock tells you being in the dark, it’s time for bed, not because your old and need your rest. We do have spring ahead and I’m dreaming of hyacints, daffodil and tulips peeking out coloring the lawn under the white blanket of snow, and the thought of gardening ahead.

So being homebound, I find myself sitting at the dining room table writing, or in my chair with my foot up in the air with ice packs, and out of the corner of my eyes, I see movement in the backyard, the deer pack, not unusual and not surprising.  We get two or three that cut through, after all it is their country and we do throw scrap potatoes, carrots, celery out for them, some actually bed down at night in the trees. They’re beautiful in their own way, with innocent faces and those big brown eyes, and some so playful. They’re not really running unless somekind of noise spooks them.

Today, they came in masses, I counted 19, they all actually stopped in the yard. Looking out, I see them staring at me in the patio door, hauntilly staring, and seemingly begging for something. Then I’m thinking, they must have gotten together for some kind of march, a tour, party or social hour, one, two, six, and now 15 to 20…every day more and more show up…Today unlike other days, Mama’s house is a “Deer Party House” or designated “Deer Social Hour” venue….Did Someone sent out invitations?  Do I need to set up a banquet table?, organize music?, reindeer games? {LOL}, Do I decorate?  No one forwared a menu to me. They love to hang out back there, I just want to be a good hostess….

When their reunion comes to an end, they go through from the backyard to the frontyard using the carport breezeway because the side of the garage isn’t good enough or the snow pile is too high. Their hoofprints are all up and down the stairs and walkway pass the backdoor…Do I wait for one to stop at the door, knock and ask for hot chocolate or something? I only wish to be as agile as they are, when they do run, they just don’t stop and check for any type of traffic before crossing the street, they just dart out in the front of you…and that goes the same for winding mountain roads.  Our personal statistic:   Deer/Moose 3, Mercedes 0.

Once in a while, the road is flooded with these wild turkeys walking up and down the road…I often see them swinging from the tree across the way, like monkeys, I didn’t know turkeys were so athletic.  (What are you doing birds?)  Winter is fun…

Having so much time on my hands, I review my lessons, Mama is really concerned about me adapting to life in Maine, {I’m adapting yo!!} as we drive back and forth, to the little big town {pretending to be a city} the car rides become “City to Country Schooling”,    OMG!!! There is so much to learn and unlearn. At times, I become overwhelmed In my mind, I had to literally scale back decades and decades to understand. I really heed to her life’s lessons after all she’s been here for over 50 years, I want to be a good Mainer!….I’ll always remember one of her teachings about the woods and Maine life, driving on rt. 17 back from Rumford, She says to me masterly and in a savvy way, “You surely don’t want to pull off the side of the road for a “quickie” or “make-out session.” {I gulped, It’s -10 outside, where is she going with this?} she continues, without skipping a beat, “In the summer time, you’ll be eaten up by pesty micro-mosquitoes.”  Blushing at what I was envisioning, with my jaw on my lap, I looked at her and shook my head. She sounded so well versed on the subject, I really did not want to ask or say anything.

The four o’clock hour became my favorite time of the day. 4:00 pm rolls around on a chosen given day and there’s giddy excitment amongst the women in town. I realized when a gathering line up at the door with smiles on their faces and I was told, it was “TEA TIME”…I looked forward to my first time, anticipating a non-typical selection of  “Mountain or East Coast” collection of Earl Greys, Green or Black teas, I embraced the jubilant feeling of this ritual, delighted with the thought of Hot Tea on a cold day, chatty women, gossiping, eating cheese and crackers.

Imagine my surprise! It was more like a gathering of wine curators, The tea selection included: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Rose’s, {Mama says with a grimace on her face, that she’s paying tribute to teatime for the Queen of England!} She’s French, what can I say!   Well, that [lightbulb in my head] thouroughly explained the large collection of empty bottles stacked in the garage and why she parked her car in the driveway.

I’ve just returned from Le Hospital de Sheraton, so I’m not doing much cooking right now and need to stay still for the next 10 days , “Get back in bed, Not on my watch”,  Mama says sternely and adds that I had been fired from kitchen duties. Yes Ma’am…Im’ just going to enjoy the snow outside from my window and stay still. I do want to know how your cakes and warm winter soups and stews turned out though,  Think of it as therapy for me,   Happy Fooding Folks!.   joanneblais22@yahoo.com